A home area network may be used to communicate data between devices that consume resources in a home or other dwelling (e.g., electricity) and devices that monitor and/or manage the consumption of resources. Utility companies and other resource providers may use home area networks to monitor consumption of the resources by consumers. Using home area networks to monitor consumption of the resources by consumers in a home may allow a utility company or other resource provider to identify distribution issues and other problems.
Home area networks may be provided by transceiver devices included in intelligent metering devices. Connectivity from a metering device to a monitored building may be established by physically attaching the metering device to the monitored building. Physically attaching the metering device to a building or other structure may provide sufficient range and connectivity for deployment environments such as single-dwelling homes. In some deployment environments, such as apartment buildings or other multi-dwelling units, a metering device may be installed at a first location (such as a corner of the building) that is remote from a second location being monitored by the metering device (such as an apartment in a multi-dwelling unit). The distance between the metering device and the home area network may present problems in establishing connectivity from the home area network to the metering device.
It is desirable to provide a simplified communication infrastructure for communicating data between a home area network and a metering device.